Mobile phone photos just are not happening for me today. I think I've been trying too hard with them, rather than just seizing the moment. But I really like this image - I was waving the phone around (partly in frustration at being so uninspired) while I took this photo this morning. And the result is one I actually like. A lot. The colours, the blur, the little light streaks. It works (for me at least).

And the funny thing is, I've actually taken a whole load of serious photos with my proper cameras today. I might post them later. While out walking last night, I saw some water lilies. They were all closed up for the night, but I put a reminder into my phone to go take photos of them this morning while the sun's out. So I did. And I'm really happy with the way those photos turned out too.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

I've decided to try to blog more, at least with some photos, so have set myself the challenge of posting a photo every day that I've taken with my phone. Why am I not doing a month of photos with any of my proper cameras? Well, earlier this week, I read over Photo Radar's 32 Photo Projects for 2011 and one of the project ideas was "Use your mobile phone camera."

I thought it'd be interesting to try something different. The photos I take with my phone's camera tend to be quite different to the ones I take with any of my normal cameras, and the process doesn't ever seem to be as fast. With a camera, it's take it out, turn it on, point, shoot. With the phone, it's take it out, unlock it, press the camera button until it turns on, line up the shot with the focus thing, take the photo, hope it works out and isn't blurry. Sometimes the colours can be quite noticeably not the same as they are in real life, but I think that's more to do with the automatic white balance.

My phone's a Nokia, and I think it produces some better photos than the LG I used to have, which was more or less marketed as being a camera-quality phone. It was alright, but the quality of the Nokia seems a bit higher.

Maybe I'll play around with some effects on this phone over the month, although there aren't many. There's some choices with the white balance, too, which might be fun to play with just to see how different balances impact different amounts and types of light. Whatever happens, hopefully it should at least provide some blog content.

Catherine Hill Bay is my favourite beach – it’s so gorgeous and I find the coal loader kind of fascinating. However, there’s talk about having to demolish the jetty because of the state of disrepair it’s in. It would take a few million to repair it, then another few million to maintain it over the next 10 years.

It would be a shame to lose it, not least because it adds an interesting focal point to the beach. It also is a great physical reminder of the town’s mining history and provides a habitat for marine fauna and flora.

Today, the tide was low and it meant I could explore the coal loader a little more. The waves were also small, barely lapping at the base of each pole. It made a change from every other time I've been there when the tide has been all the way up to the cliffs or rushing on the way in with large waves. It was full of surprises, especially the area of rock pools in what appears to be coal or something like it. There were all kinds of starfish and other little creatures, as well as some unusual barnacles.

Plus there were so many opportunities for interesting photos. This is one of my favourite from today. I like the paleness of the water and sky in black and white, the way they sort of melt into each other and the starkness of the coal loader.

It would be a shame to see it all dismantled. It adds so many fascinating photographic opportunities to the beach.

There are a number of old, rusted chains at Catherine Hill Bay by the coal loader. They're absolutely huge, and for some reason make me think of Nutri Grain. But anyway... I love how they've decayed, rusting away over the years as the sea water has corroded them. The colours are fantastic, as are the textures. There are some chains buried in the sand and others attached to the cliff face, wrapped around rock that divides little caves eaten into the base of the cliff.

Today I realised that I hadn't been to the beach for months. Well, almost months - it was mid-November when I last went. That was a little depressing, as I got my P plates last month (and on my first attempt - woot!), so should have done more driving. So after lunch, it was time to head to the beach.

There were a lot of cars at Catherine Hill Bay pub - think there was some live music or something - but there actually weren't too many in the beach car parks. And there weren't a lot of people at the beach today either. But the surf was practically non-existent, so that's probably why many people stayed home instead of making the most of the beach on a public holiday. Additionally, it was cloudy and kind of cool, with occasional little bits of misty drizzle.

Best of all, the tide was out.

I've never seen the tide so far out there and it meant that I could actually get easy access to the coal loader, rather than taking photos of it from a distance. It was somewhat creepy to walk under because there are so many poles and pylons that are either rusting or decayed (depending on whether they're made of metal or wood). But there are so many opportunities for great shots under the coal loader. I'd love to go back there sometime when it's low tide again and sunrise or something. I know I'm not a morning person, but I have the feeling there'd be some great photo opportunities with that time of the day there.